"Denjiro, do you intend to rebel?"
Kozuki Hiyori tried to draw her blade, but Denjiro's hand didn't loosen in the slightest, standing unmoving like a pillar. As if he had lost all sense of pain, he used his muscles and bones to firmly clamp down on Hiyori's wakizashi.
Even without using Haki, Denjiro himself was far stronger than Kozuki Hiyori. Hiyori's training only made her stronger than ordinary women; she did not inherit Oden's natural talent for fighting.
She wasn't fragile, but she also wasn't skilled in combat.
That was why she posed a soul-searching question to Denjiro.
Royal families are the most ruthless of all; even in small countries the size of city-states, brothers will slaughter each other for the throne.
In Wano Country, such things were not unheard of. Though the Shogun had always been from the Kozuki family through centuries of isolation, the process was marked by bloody struggles.
For a closed-off nation, the country before their eyes was everything, so many coveted the seat of Shogun. Even families like the Kurozumi family had entertained such ambitions, let alone those who shared Kozuki blood.
Kozuki Oden had no brothers. If he had one, the position of Shogun might well have been passed to that brother.
But his ancestors had not been so fortunate, so the Kozuki family had long established a rule: the retainers of the father were not to interfere in the struggles of the children, unless secretly instructed by the previous Shogun.
If Denjiro had always been loyal to Momonosuke, then his actions at this moment could be justified. But his loyalty had always been to Kozuki Oden, and to him, both Hiyori and Momonosuke were nothing more than heirs.
Now, by stopping Kozuki Hiyori, he was already overstepping, especially since Kozuki Hiyori was the current Shogun.
In Hiyori's eyes, Denjiro's actions were blatant favoritism. To accuse him of treason was not simply name-calling; in a sense, Denjiro's actions already constituted rebellion.
"Your servant would not dare. But, Lady Shogun, that is your elder brother. You are already the Shogun. Acting this way will only burden you with the infamy of fratricide for no reason. Why go so far?"
"You really are considering my well-being, aren't you? With a reaction that fast, should I say it proves your martial arts skill, or that you've been suspecting me all along?"
"I—"
"Twenty years, Denjiro. You are my father's retainer, but you've spent twenty more years at my side than with my brother.
The nature of this Shogun's position, you know as well as I do, I don't need to say it aloud.
After such a long time, even raising a pet would foster affection. Yet you hadn't even been reunited with my dear brother for five minutes before you resolutely chose to stand by his side.
When you do this, Denjiro, it makes me very sad."
Though Denjiro said nothing, his actions still made his stance clear.
In the eyes of many, as long as Momonosuke returned, whatever Hiyori had done before—good or bad, whether Wano had prospered or declined—none of it mattered.
If the country thrived, it was only what she should have done. If the country declined, it was simply beyond her ability. In the end, Wano was meant to be handed to Momonosuke, the real heir.
Kozuki Hiyori was forever a stand-in, never comparable to the rightful lord.
Denjiro may not have meant it that way, but his obstruction reminded Hiyori of those who had tried to assassinate her.
[We must awaken Wano's will to resist.]
[If even the Shogun bows to the Beasts Pirates, how will outsiders continue to resist? We must use blood to awaken Wano once more, to reignite the transformation of our country!]
Such grandiose words, but the cost was her life. For the sake of what they called righteousness, she was expected to die. That was the spark that ignited Kozuki Hiyori's resentment.
Even though those people had already been eliminated, their words still haunted Kozuki Hiyori like a nightmare, often appearing in her dreams.
"So, Mister Denjiro, I'll give you one more chance to choose. Who are you truly loyal to?"
"I—I am a retainer of the Kozuki family, and have always been. Lady Hiyori, there should never be such conflict between you siblings. After all, he is your elder brother."
Hearing Denjiro's words, and seeing the determination in his gaze, Hiyori released her grip on the wakizashi.
By strength alone, she was certainly no match for Denjiro.
Denjiro thought his words had gotten through, that Hiyori had changed her mind, and was just about to breathe a sigh of relief, when he saw Kozuki Hiyori suddenly turn and pull out a pistol.
Delia had told Kikunojo that Hiyori carried a wakizashi, but never mentioned that she carried other weapons.
"So then, Brother Momonosuke, why have you stayed silent this whole time? Is it because you never wanted to see me at all?"
The gun's muzzle dipped slightly, but Denjiro's body once again blocked its path.
"Denjiro, you really disappoint me. Kawamatsu, Kikunojo, pull him aside. What comes next is a family matter of Kozuki bloodline, it has nothing to do with you all."
"Kawamatsu! Kikunojo! What are you two doing?! Don't you realize what will be the consequences of this?! Let go of me!"
When he saw Kikunojo and Kawamatsu truly step forward to grab him, Denjiro began to panic. Among the Nine, there were still gaps in strength. Ashura Doji had been far ahead of the rest.
But Ashura Doji had died many years ago, and the difference between Denjiro, Kawamatsu, and Kikunojo wasn't that great. Adding in the raw strength advantage of the Fish-Men, Denjiro really couldn't break free from Kawamatsu's grip who was being assisted by Kikunojo.
"Denjiro, calm down. Acting like this will only make Lady Hiyori even angrier. Have you forgotten where we are right now?"
Because of his guilt over being captured back then, Kawamatsu leaned more toward Kozuki Hiyori. Kikunojo was in much the same state.
They didn't care about Momonosuke as deeply as Denjiro did, and so they could see the situation more clearly.
Though it looked as if only a few of them were here, this was actually the heart of the Beasts Pirates' territory. Who knew where Queen might be watching from?
Even if none of them obeyed Kozuki Hiyori's orders, there would still be Beasts Pirates willing to follow her command. After all, it was Kozuki Hiyori whom the Beasts Pirates had chosen.
Especially in recent years, after Hiyori's attitude had changed, the Beasts Pirates were even more satisfied with this Shogun. The one who truly decided Momonosuke's life or death was never Kozuki Hiyori, it was the Beasts Pirates.
If the Beasts Pirates wanted him alive, no one could kill him. If they wanted him dead, no one could save him.
If Kawamatsu and Kikunojo had taken Denjiro's side, then Hiyori's heart might have undergone an even more terrifying transformation, and the outcome could have been disastrous.
Because Denjiro was too worried, he had lost his clarity of mind. Only now did he realize that his interference was only worsening the conflict. Thinking back carefully, the angle of that strike—had it landed—would have pierced the abdomen, but it wouldn't have been instantly fatal.
Even so, this was not a good sign. Between the siblings, or rather, from the sister toward the brother, there was no longer any lingering affection of kinship.
"It's all the fault of those b*stards…"
Denjiro recalled the lunatics who had once attempted assassination, but looking at Hiyori now, he suddenly realized; some of their words were no longer so easy to refute.
[Lord Denjiro, go and see the Wano Country of today. Aside from us old folk, children in their teens don't even know who the Shogun is! They don't understand what the Shogun means!
They attend the schools established by Kaido, shouting "Lord Wise King" with their mouths. At this rate, will there still be anyone willing to resist?!]
[By protecting her, you aren't protecting the Kozuki family at all! You're destroying Kozuki's hope! If things go on like this, when Lord Momonosuke returns, will there still be anyone willing to help him?!
We're already old, and our descendants are unwilling to continue down this path. So while we still have strength, we must do something!"]
Given the current situation, their words seemed to have been correct. Even Momonosuke's own sister no longer wanted to help him.
"Don't you want to do something?"
"What could we even do?"
Since it was a matter of the Kozuki family, they didn't have a just cause, and the disparity in military strength made resistance impossible. Both in theory and in reality, it was unbearably painful.
With Denjiro dragged away, there was no one left to protect Momonosuke. Inuarashi and Nekomamushi wanted to help, but they were powerless and could only stand aside and watch, while Hiyori crouched down in front of him.
The dark muzzle of the gun pointed straight at him.
"Hi—Hiyori, I…I am Momonosuke, your big brother…"
For him, twenty years had passed in the blink of an eye. The shadow of Wano's great war had yet to lift completely, and now he found a gun aimed at his head by his own little sister.
It wasn't until Denjiro was dragged away that he finally realized the situation before him.
His impression of Kozuki Hiyori was still stuck on that little girl from long ago.
Back then, Hiyori had been mischievous and lively, often greeting Momonosuke with a flying kick, so much so that he sometimes thought of her as a wild child. Still, their sibling relationship had been good.
"You loved playing 'Moon Princess' the most back then. Why would you want to kill me? Our enemy is the Beasts Pirates! Have you forgotten Father and Mother's last wish?"
"Last wish? Are you referring to letting you enjoy the fruits of my labor 20 years later, while I endure all the hardships here, only to hand everything over to you in the end?"
"T-that's not what I mean! And Mother never thought that way either! She just wanted a greater chance for the Kozuki bloodline to continue.…"
Faced with the threat of death, Momonosuke's words seemed somewhat reasonable. If it had been a few years earlier, Hiyori wouldn't have needed him to explain, she would have understood. But now, it was all far too late.
"Then tell me, why was it me who was left behind, and not you? We were both by her side, yet Mother still chose you!"
As she spoke, the muzzle was shoved directly into Momonosuke's mouth. The bitter taste of metal pricked at his nerves, and he could even smell the stench of gunpowder.
"Of course, I can't blame Mother. After all, she gave birth to me and raised me. But if not for you, she would never have shown favoritism. So all of this, it's your fault!"
The muzzle rotated, the front sight tearing at the inside of his mouth. The taste of blood spread across his tongue, adding another layer of terror to the already tense atmosphere.
Kozuki Hiyori's tone had a touch of madness. Momonosuke instinctively grabbed at the gun barrel with both hands, trying to push it away, but compared to an adult, his strength was far too weak.
Seeing this, Hiyori did not immediately pull the trigger. Instead, she kicked him in the abdomen.
It was just like twenty years ago, except that back then it had been fight between children. This time, however, her kick carried all the resentment accumulated over the years.
Momonosuke curled up like a shrimp against the wall, two teeth falling beside him. Even the pistol slipped from her grip and skidded across the floor. For some reason, when she kicked, Kozuki Hiyori's hand had let go of the gun.
"D-don't come closer! Please, don't force me!"
In a panic, Momonosuke snatched up the fallen pistol. At this moment, only a weapon could give him even the faintest sense of security.
"You haven't released the safety. The safety is still on."
Hearing Kozuki Hiyori's words, Momonosuke fumbled frantically with the weapon, but he had no idea how to use a gun and couldn't even find where the safety was.
While he was doing that, Kozuki Hiyori slowly walked up to him, snatched the gun back, and in front of Momonosuke disengaged the safety and loaded a fresh bullet. In truth, the gun had been empty all along, only now did it truly gain the ability to fire.
"Y-you… do you really intend to kill me?"
"Hahaha, Brother Momonosuke, you'll understand. If I wanted to simply kill you outright, that would be the most merciful thing to do. There are things far more terrifying than death.
You will never understand what my life has been like during these past twenty years!"
"Wh-why? Why are you doing this?!"
"Why? Of course because of hatred. I was the one left behind, and you were the one who escaped. Haven't I already said this?
Ah, yes…we spoke of Mother, but I haven't mentioned Father yet. You don't resemble Father at all, and yet everyone insists you're the only one who can inherit the Shogun position of Wano Country. But you don't realize, it isn't just me.
Hardly anyone in the entire Wano Country actually wants you to come back."
Saying this, Hiyori dragged Momonosuke over to the window, from which most of Wano Country could be seen.
"Do you see it? What a beautiful nation. This is what Father once hoped for. But none of this has anything to do with the Kozuki family.
If I were to go out right now and announce my abdication, perhaps some would try to urge me to not abdicate, perhaps it would be a topic of daily discussion for a while. But with time, the Shogun would inevitably become history, and as the final Shogun, I would be no more than a footnote in history.
But if the Beasts Pirates were to leave, within a week the entire functioning of Wano Country would collapse."
The departure of the Beasts Pirates would not just mean the disappearance of a ruler. Without their military deterrence, countless forces would set their sights on this land rich in Seastone ores, and the native forces of Wano Country are simply incapable of deterring external forces.
Nor did Wano Country have the means to recruit doctors from all over the world. And the Beasts Pirates' withdrawal would also mean the departure of the Pokémon.
No power plant could compare with Electivire. Wano had no space to construct a large power station capable of producing electricity output on par with Electivire.
In a Wano Country where electrification has already been widely adopted, a power outage would be a terrifying event.
Without Muk and Weezing, the factories could not possibly engage in environmentally friendly production.
The external trade channels and unique goods, the miraculous Sacred Mountain—these too would fade into nothing but fleeting smoke.
Some might try to urge the Shogun to not abdicate for the sake of appearances, but those who would plead for the Beasts Pirates to stay would do so from the bottom of their hearts. No one is a fool, people can tell who can truly give them a better life.
The new generation of Wano will never allow a so-called heir who vanished for twenty years to rob them of their way of living.
This had been the ultimate aim of the Beasts Pirates' policy from the very start, and according to earlier secret investigations, it had nearly been achieved.
Looking at Momonosuke trembling as he dangled high above the ground, Hiyori's tone suddenly turned gentle again.
"Don't worry, Brother Momonosuke. Before you've tasted true despair, I won't let you die so easily. I promise."
At that moment, Kozuki Hiyori's smile was sweet…so sweet it chilled the heart.
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